“You want to be the guy that says yes to everything so they start to like you, and of course you’re afraid to say no because you don’t want to disappoint your boss,” he said.

He emphasized that there’s no job or pay cheque worth risking serious injury or death. His advice to anyone who feels they’ve been given an unsafe task at work is to stand up for their right to a safe workplace and say no to putting themselves in danger.

“There’s always another job you can get but you can’t get another life and you can’t regain limbs,” he said.

Two years after his injury, Thomas has graduated high school, tours with his band, spends hours in the recording studio and is working on a new album.

He said he’s lost too much to be an optimist about the situation he’s in. He said he wouldn’t wish his circumstances on anyone.

“I’ve been given a lot of great opportunities since it happened but that being said, my life has changed forever and it’s changed almost entirely in the negative.”